Shoe-fastening



0. F; SPENCER.

SHOE FASTENING.

No. 249,266. Patented-Nov. 8,1881;

to be changed.

UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

CHARLES F. SPENCER, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

SHOE-FASTENING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 249,266, dated November 8, 1881. Application filed July 15, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES F. SPENCER, of Rochester, Monroe county, New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvemnt in Shoe-Fastenings; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the fastening. Fig. 2 is a plan of the same. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing the fastening applied to a shoe. Fig. 4 is a perspective view, showing a modification of the device.

My improvement relates to button -fastenin'gs for shoes.

In ordinary shoes the buttons are sewed on, and in order to change their position the thread has to be cut loose and the button sewed on again, which takes much time and is the cause of much dificulty, as, in ladies shoes particularly, the upper buttons almost always have To obviate these difficulties my invention consists of a fastening composed of an ordinary button and a sharp-pointed shank having at one end an eye which receives the eye of the button, and at the other end a sharp point which stands forward horizontallyin the direction of the fly and enters the leather of the shoe, as will be more fully described.

In the drawings, A represents the ordinary button, provided with an eye, a,- and B representstheshank,consistingofasmallloop oreye, b, in which the eye of the button fits, and a straight sharp point, 0, which stands forward in a horizontal direction, as shown in Fig. 1. To make the device efi'ective and to give room for the leather a reverse bend, 01, is made under the loop or eye which holds the button, so that the latter eye 0 also stands forward in the direction in which the strain comes upon the button.

In use the sharp point 0, which really forms a pin, is passed down through the leather C of the shoe directly under the outer edge of the button-fly D, and then is turned forward and the pointed end forced into the under side of the leather, as shown in Fig.3, being thereby held in place by being pinned to the leather. When the bu tton-fly'is buttoned over it, also as shown in Fig. 3, the strain comes in the direction of the arrow, is to draw the point forward and hold it still more firmly in the leather, and the fastening is really much stronger and more secure than thesewedfastening,which is constantlystretching and breaking. The great advantage, however, is that the fastening-point can be removed and-set over in either direction in a moments time and without trouble. Another advantage is that the loop or eye b, to which the button is attached, is at the rear or outer end of the shank and rests above the same, leaving a free and unobstructed space around the button for the action ofthe button-hookin buttoning the shoe.

Ifdcsired,the fastening-shanks may be made double-pointed, as shown in Fig. 4, instead of single-pointed, as above described.

I am aware that eyes for holding the button and provided with staple-ends which pass down through the leather and are clinched are well known, and such I do not claim. In such cases, in order to remove the button and set it over the staple ends have to be unclinched, which is inconvenient, and after being used once or twice the ends become bent, so that theyare inconvenient inuse or become broken, so that thedeviceisinoperative. Myinventionavoids all these difiiculties.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- An improvement in button-fastenings for shoes, consisting of a straight shank forming a pin having a sharp point at the front end adapted to be inserted in the leather from the outside and an eye on the rear end of the shank standing above the shank receiving the eye of the button, the shank and its eye being made in one piece, as herein shown and de scribed.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHAS. F. SPENCER. Witnesses R. F. OSGOOD,

GHAUNoEY PERRY.

and the tendency 

